Bravo for the B-side Podcast

Someone reached out, and we watched their film. The Rogue Barrens is a no-budget, short feature that delivers. Exemplifying everything about Indie film - economy of locations, making the best of available equipment, simple story, and a low-overhead of effects. One big boost is a professionally scored soundtrack. These young filmmakers are the primary reason we started this podcast, which is to ins...

Sometimes a movie hits some deep personal beats. The film Evergreen does just that, and a lot more. This excellent indie film has some rock-solid lessons on direction, writing, pacing, and more. Fantastic performances and clear, crisp storytelling brings you in to the very personal journey of a young woman’s learning experience about life and family. A must watch for technical lessons as well as s...

We swing into Almost Adults, a great film about best friends evolving into being full-on grown-ups. There is a lot of great stuff here, thematically and technically. Performances are wonderful and the movie is well written. It brings you in for the ride with familiarity and perhaps nostalgia. An out of the park hit, it’s something everyone should watch not just for the technical lessons but also f...

We give tribute to the great Danny Trejo, an actor that we simply adore and who deserves a tribute for more reasons than just being in movies. We have friend Miles Trout from the Discdump Podcast joining us to pay homage to a man who is not only a spectacular example of taking control of the second act of your life, but also just a damn good guy. His movies are fantastic, making him an Indie and B...

Deciding it was time for a horror film, we jumped in to Doctor Carver. Disappointment comes in all forms, and this film managed to pretty much deliver on all of them. We knew what we were getting into, as director Louisa Warren brought us Leprechaun Games which was just terrible. Filled with inconsistent editing, mind-numbing repetition of the moral message in the plot, lazy effects, and a ham, th...

This week we dive into Blush. There are some differing opinions on the film’s theme, but the long and short of it is that this is unfortunately an ambitious effort that did not cross the finish line. Lessons gleaned from this movie are more what not to do than what to do. The most important lesson is no movie should have more than half a dozen storylines in it. Great actors with an unfortunate scr...

Not only is The Party’s Just Beginning, written and directed by Karen Gillan, is a must see on all levels. The main character copes with the suicide of her best friend, and never before has the reality and raw truth of such situations been put to screen. Masterfully written and directed, with top-level performances all throughout, this movie has not just lessons for filmmakers but also for human b...

We dive into Sensitivity Training, a light-hearted comedy that has some serious lessons in writing, directing, acting, overall production value. A callous woman is forced into sensitivity training sessions in order to keep her job. While some of the pitfalls are obvious, as with any similar comedy piece, the story behind her and her training coach makes for some brilliant after-film discussion. Se...

This week it’s another film that launched some great conversation. Runoff takes us deep into the quandary of the American farmer. Female lead Joanne Kelly runs us through some very tough moral dilemmas facing the truth of what our farmers are facing. Director and writer Kimberly Levin gives us another fantastic stew of lessons on storytelling, cinematography, and direction. This is a ‘story that n...

Take This Waltz is a fantastic character-driven film. Directed and written by Sarah Polley and starring Michelle Williams, Seth Rogan, Sarah Silverman, Luke Kirby. It provoked some really terrific conversation between us, which is a really good thing. The reveal of each character’s story was artfully done. There are a lot of great lessons in this movie for everyone, from behind the scenes to being...

For the third time friend Hilton Ariel Ruiz is on the show. We talk about the ramping up of production for Zombie With A Shotgun 2. We chat about indie filmmaking post-COVID, how it has affected all levels from actors to writers to directors. Every level of production has been touched. Hilton is a busy man who won’t let anything slow him down. We talk about keeping up your drive, how we miss movie...

A long-time favorite of Jim’s, Frankenhooker is the Citizen Kane of the Tromaverse. Straight from 1990 this comedy, billed as a horror comedy, exemplifies everything that the 80’s stood for in b-movies. Hardly a horror, Frankenhooker brings two unusual takes on main characters. One monologues more than 80% of the way through, and the female lead is absent for about the same period. Intentional or...

This episode is the first time we’ve had to bail on a film. Fountaine and the Vengeful Nun Who Wouldn’t Die unfortunately crossed our tolerance line and we had to stop about thirty minutes in. We discuss that at length in this episode as well as why we’re sticking to our guns about violence towards women in film. We’re not saying the movie is terrible, and some people may not have the same line we...

We talk with the wonderful Jennifer Hill, who played the mythical Beowulf in the great indie movie Bae Wolf. An excellent conversation about trials and rewards of acting. Jennifer gives some point-blank examples of how even dreams and passions need to take a backseat to life, but you can always pick it back up. Join us for this great conversation with a very grounded and passionate actor. Bae Wolf...

It’s the second half of our talk with the cast and crew of Bae Wolf. Amazing talents of David Axe, Stephan Jensen, Brendan Thompson, Morgan Shaley Renew, and Cleve Langdale. Part two of a two-parter, this bit covers some of the woes of indie filmmaking. Actors having to drop out, last-minute replacements, location headaches, but most importantly professionalism and the art of getting it all done....

We talk with the cast and crew of Bae Wolf. Amazing talents of David Axe, Stephan Jensen, Brendan Thompson, Morgan Shaley Renew, and Cleve Langdale. Part one of a two-parter, this bit covers some of the woes of indie filmmaking. Actors having to drop out, last-minute replacements, location headaches, but most importantly professionalism and the art of getting it all done. Have a seat and give a li...

We dive into Bae Wolf. Sent to us as a screener, this tongue-in-cheek take on the classic Beowulf tale is fun from start to finish. David Axe artfully introduces Beowulf as a female character in a way that makes sense, and isn’t reaching for a gimmick. Great production lessons across the board, and you just cannot walk away from this film without thinking about Imps. You’ll see. Listen and watch t...

Coyote Lake is no fun-in-the-sun film. This thought-provoking, unique thriller by Sara Seligman stirs up some deep thoughts. The lessons are bountiful. Technically beautiful, well written, and fantastically performed it is a feast for the eyes. Like any really good film it sparks thoughts and conversation at the end. We thought this was going to be a decent film, but it turned out to be a fantasti...

In Zero Charisma we have some great lessons, if not a couple of them being cautionary. A power-hungry, immature Game Master loses a longtime player and reluctantly brings on a new player. This player doesn’t understand how the GM likes to play, and starts to pull the rest of the players away from the GM’s carefully crafted - and controlled - world. Zero Charisma can be found on Tubi.

We dissect a deep, majestically artistic and emotional film, I’m Not Here. Starring JK Simmons, and directed by Michelle Schumacher, this is a blazing fire of lessons for everyone. We consider this to be JK Simmon’s best performance ever. If you ever wondered how to convey emotion and story without a single line of dialogue for a character, this is a must see. Beautiful, thought provoking, simply...

After sitting on the list for a while we finally break into Psycho Goreman. This film is full of lessons, not the least of which is if you are going to have fun with your story, go all in. The Ultimate Evil of the Universe is comically under foot of a small girl who controls him with a magic gem. A masterpiece of humor and gore, Psycho Goreman delivers on many fronts. This is the second film we’ve...

We end the year by focusing on a woman who we embarrassingly never heard of; Alice Guy-Blaché. This woman was the first female filmmaker. The first filmmaker to create narrative stories, not just stock footage. She was a pioneer. She was inventive. She is the mother of filmmaking as we know it. And, with all of that and so much more, she was deliberately written out of history. Please join us and...

It’s that time of year for a Santa slasher! Dive into the holiday with us as we dissect Slay Belles. This Santa slasher doubles as a bonus Krampus film as well. A fun gore-ride into Christmas we talk about the top-notch practical effects, Barry Bostwick as Santa, economy of backstory, and why movies like this are just so much fun. Slay Belles can be found on Tubi.

For the third time we have David Ryan Keith on the show, this time joined by the fantastic actor Paul Flannery, who played Johnathan Blazer in Ghosts of Darkness. We talk about the making of Ghosts of Darkness, Johnathan Blazer, and the upcoming sequel to this wonderful film. Join in for behind the scenes chat, some fanboying of David’s talent, and learn more about Paul, who is a wonderfully fun a...

From David Ryan Keith we have another excellent movie. Ghosts of Darkness is a wonderful horror movie that calls back to the classic horror films. A solid plot, character development without hours of exposition, and terrific actors Paul Flannery and Michael Koltes, makes for a fun and worthwhile horror film. A lot of great lessons in here. Once again David Ryan Keith brings his talent for framing,...